Zoom FAQs

Get answers to the most frequently asked questions about Zoom.

What license do I have? What types of Zoom licenses do faculty, staff, and students have?

CSULB faculty, staff, and students are eligible for Zoom accounts to host meetings up to 300 participants for an unlimited meeting duration

Can my students host a Zoom meeting?

The co-host feature allows you to share hosting privileges with another Zoom user in a meeting or webinar. This can be useful to allow another user to manage the administrative side of the meeting, such as muting participants or starting/stopping the recording. You can assign up to 50 co-hosts in a meeting. Co-hosts are assigned during a meeting and cannot start a meeting. If a host needs someone else to be able to start the meeting, they can assign an alternative host. Learn about enabling and adding a co-host.

Is Zoom available for Teaching Assistants, Tutors, and Graduate Assistants?

They have access to the licensed student account. If that does not meet their needs, they can email us to request further access to Zoom Cloud Recordings. Visit Zoom for Students.

Is there a time limit to my Zoom Session?

There is no time limit to host a Zoom session for faculty, staff, and students. Visit CSULB Zoom.

How do I use Zoom on my PC or Mac?

If you are hosting a Zoom meeting, download the Zoom desktop client for your computer and install it first.  If you are a meeting participant, you can download the Zoom desktop client before your meeting or you will be prompted to download and install it when you join a Zoom meeting for the first time. Visit the learn how to use the Zoom Desktop Client page.

How do I get started with Mobile iOS for Zoom?

Using the Zoom Cloud Meetings app on iOS, you can join meetings, chat with contacts, and view a directory of contacts. Visit Getting Started Mobile iOS.

How do I use Zoom on a Chromebook?

Download the app from the Chrome web store. Join a meeting by opening the Zoom app and entering the meeting ID. See Getting Started on Chrome OS. Users on Chromebooks are unable to join breakout rooms within a meeting but can be in the main room. See also Managing Breakout Rooms.

Can I sign up through SSO for Zoom?

Sign in with SSO, and then click on the Zoom “chiclet.”

Is it better to access Zoom through Canvas or SSO?

It does not matter – if you click on the Zoom link in Canvas you will be sent to our SSO site.

Can I use Zoom for office hours?

You can use Zoom for your office hours. The best practice is to use your personal meeting ID. Visit information about the Personal Meeting ID and Personal Link.

Is Zoom safe and secure, and encrypted?

We have some tips and measures to help keep your Zoom meetings private and secure. Visit Zoom - Security Considerations.

Is it better to access Zoom through Canvas or SSO?

It doesn't matter – if you click on the Zoom link you will be sent to our SSO site.

How do I prepare for a Zoom meeting?

For information about preparing for a Zoom meeting, visit the Getting started in Zoom page.

What is the difference between a Zoom meeting and a webinar?

Visit Meeting and Webinar Comparison. Both the Meeting and Webinar platforms offer similar features, with minor distinctions.

  • Meetings are designed to be collaborative, giving the opportunity for the participants to share their screen, turn on their webcam and audio, and see other attendees.
  • Webinars allow the host and any designated attendee to share their screen, audio, and video. Webinars allow view-only attendees who can use the Q&A, chat, and polling question features to interact. In the webinar function, the host can unmute the attendees.

How do I schedule a Zoom meeting?

You can schedule a meeting on the web, through the Zoom Desktop client, through the Zoom mobile app, or through one of our many integrations. Learn more about scheduling a Zoom meeting.

How do you schedule a webinar in Zoom?

For information about scheduling and obtaining a webinar license, email Zoom@csulb.edu. 

How can I change Zoom settings?

The full list of Zoom settings is available online from your Zoom page, which you can access from Single Sign-On (SSO) or in the menu of any course. You can also change some Zoom settings in your Desktop Client or mobile app. To do so, open the program or app and select the settings “Gear” button on the right side. Settings that you can update include profile edits, closed captioning, reminders, synced calendars, mute on entry, and many more. Visit Changing settings in the desktop client or mobile app.

How do I test my audio and video in Zoom?

The Zoom desktop app allows you to test your audio and video before hosting or joining a meeting.  Click on one of the links below for more information:

How do I find the meeting ID in Zoom?

The meeting ID is the meeting number associated with an instant or scheduled meeting. The meeting ID can be a 9, 10, or 11-digit number. The 9-digit number is used for instant, scheduled, or recurring meetings. The 10, or 11-digit number is used for Personal Meeting IDs. Visit the Finding an ID in Zoom page.

How do I set up a recurring meeting in Zoom?

Zoom allows you to schedule meetings with multiple occurrences so that each occurrence uses the same meeting ID and settings. You can schedule these meetings in daily, weekly, and monthly increments. You can also set a recurring meeting to be used at any time. Meeting IDs for recurring meetings expire 365 days after the meeting was last started.

Why should I use the waiting room option in Zoom?

The Waiting Room feature allows the host to control when a participant joins the meeting. As the meeting host, you can admit attendees one by one or hold all attendees in the waiting room and admit them all at once. You can send all participants to the waiting room when joining your meeting or only guests, participants who are not on your Zoom account or are not signed in. Visit the Waiting Room overview.

How do I use a waiting room in Zoom?

The Waiting Room feature allows the host to control when a participant joins the meeting. As the meeting host, you can admit attendees one by one or hold all attendees in the waiting room and admit them all at once. Visit using a Waiting Room in Zoom.

How can I take attendance in Zoom?

You can view attendance as well as when the participants entered and left the meeting. Learn about generating meeting attendance reports.

How do I manage attendees in Zoom?

You can have both panelists and attendees in your webinar and manage them as the host. By clicking on Participants in your host controls, you can manage the panelists and attendees in your webinar. This includes promoting to co-host or panelist, demoting panelists to attendee, unmuting, stopping video, and more. Visit managing attendees in Zoom.

How are people using fake backgrounds in Zoom?

The virtual background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom Meeting. This feature works best with a green screen and uniform lighting, to allow Zoom to detect the difference between you and your background. You can turn this feature on for your webcam from the Zoom homepage in the settings (gear button). Visit Virtual Background Support.

What does the “Raise Hand” button do in Zoom?

The “raise hand” feature notifies the instructor that a participant needing help. Visit Raising Hand In Webinar.

Can I assign participants to breakout rooms in Zoom?

You can create breakout rooms and have the option of creating groups. You can also pre-assign students to breakout rooms prior to the meeting. Learn about managing Breakout Rooms.

When using Zoom for a class, how many people can see each other simultaneously on the screen?

Depending on your CPU, you can display up to 49 participants on a single screen of the gallery view. If more than 49 attendees are in the meeting, 49 thumbnails are displayed on each page. view up to 1,000 thumbnails by clicking the right or left arrows in gallery view to display the next 49 participants. Learn about displaying participants in the gallery view.

How do you take a poll in a Zoom meeting or webinar?

The polling feature for meetings allows you to create single-choice or multiple-choice polling questions for your meetings. You will be able to launch the poll during your meeting and gather the responses from your attendees. You also can download a report of polling after the meeting. Polls can also be conducted anonymously if you do not wish to collect participant information with the poll results. Visit:

How can I limit the participant permissions in a Zoom meeting?

You can have both panelists and attendees in your webinar and manage them as the host. By clicking on Participants in your host controls, you can manage the panelists and attendees in your webinar. This includes promoting to co-host or panelist, demoting panelists to attendee, unmuting, stopping video, and more. Visit Managing Participants in Webinar.

Can I transfer files during a Zoom meeting?

Zoom allows to quickly and conveniently transfer files via the in-meeting chat feature. From the chat window, click the “More” setting to invoke the menu and select the option to “Share file in meeting”. This is also supported in private chat. To enable this feature, visit the Zoom Settings page and enable File Transfer.

How can I leave a Zoom meeting I am hosting without ending it?

As the host, you can assign the host controls to another user and leave the meeting, enabling the participants to continue without you. This allows the meeting to continue without you, and the assigned user to have host control over the meeting. In the host controls, click Manage Participants. Hover your mouse on the name of the participant you want to pass the meeting to, select More, and select Make Host. Click OK. You can now leave the meeting! For a detailed overview, visit Pass Host Controls and Leave the Meeting.

How do share my screen in Zoom?

Click Share in your meeting and choose the screen that you would like to share. Learn more about sharing your screen.

How do I share multiple screens at once?

First, you must enable simultaneous screen sharing as the meeting host. Start by starting your Zoom meeting as the host. Click the upward arrow to the right of Share Screen, then select ”Multiple participants can share simultaneously.” This allows multiple participants to share their screens at the same time. Please note: Participants using the Zoom mobile app can only share if no one else is sharing.

Sharing screens at the same time:
Any participants (including the host) using the Zoom desktop client can click “Share Screen” to begin sharing. Even if someone is already sharing a screen, another participant can begin sharing. Depending on their setup, participants will see the following:

  • Participants using dual monitors can see the two most recently shared screens on each monitor.
  • Participants using a single monitor see the most recently shared screen. Participants can select View Options to change the screen they are viewing.
  • Participants using the Zoom mobile app see the first shared screen. They cannot change the screen they are viewing.

As the host, you can choose to switch to the option One participant can share at a time for any portion of the meeting.

For more information about sharing multiple screens, visit Sharing Multiple Screens.

How do I share the screen from my iPad? Or iPhone?

Once you have joined a meeting, click the “Share Screen” button. Whether you do so on your phone or computer, this button is found at the bottom center. On the mobile version, a pop-up will appear after you tap "Share Content." Tap "Screen” where you will then be prompted to choose how you'd like to screen-record. Instead of selecting "Photos," choose to "Zoom Broadcast" instead. After you tap "Start Broadcast" a countdown will begin to let you know you are now recording. A red band will appear at the top of the screen with a timer. Tap "Stop Broadcast" to end the live stream. Tap the red banner or return to the Zoom app at any time to stop or make audio changes.

Can I record my meeting in Zoom?

Zoom meeting hosts can record meetings locally to their computers. Zoom meeting hosts who are licensed can also record Zoom meetings to the Zoom cloud. In a Zoom meeting, press Record to start the recording. Learn more about local recording and cloud recording.

What is the difference between cloud and local recordings?

When you record your Zoom meetings, you have the option of local recording or cloud recording. A local recording is where you save the video and audio recording to your local computer hard drive whereas a cloud recording is where the video, audio, and chat of your recording is automatically uploaded to Zoom’s cloud service.

Local recordings can only be accessed on the computer that recorded the meeting and if the meeting is unexpectedly shut down or the conversion process is interrupted, the recording could be lost. However, local recordings can be uploaded to other file storage services such as OneDrive, Google Drive, YouTube, and more.

Cloud recordings can be accessed from a desktop or the web and easily shared through a link. Furthermore, Zoom offers automatic transcription of your cloud recordings. However, there is limited Cloud storage per user.

Please review the Zoom Cloud Storage Policies and Limits, below to learn about the 180-day time limit for cloud storage.

Where do I find my recordings in Zoom?

By default, local recordings are saved to your Documents folder. Cloud recordings can be found on the Recording page of your Zoom web portal. Learn more about locating your recording.

How much storage space do I have for my recordings in Zoom?

If recording the meeting to the cloud, the size limit is 1GB per recording, with no limit on how many recordings can be stored. If recording to a local source, there is no limit. Keep in mind that local recording uses about 200MB per hour.  

Please review the Cloud Storage Policies and Limits section below to learn about the 180-day time limit for cloud storage.

Where do I find my Zoom recordings?

You can record Zoom meetings or webinars locally on your computer or to the Zoom cloud if you are a licensed user. Files stored on the cloud can be accessed on your desktop or from the web. Locally recorded meetings and webinars can only be accessed on the computer that recorded the meeting. Visit finding and viewing recordings.

Where are my Zoom videos stored after recording?

Visit Finding and Viewing Recordings You can access recordings of Zoom meetings from the Zoom web portal or your Zoom Desktop Client, depending on where you stored them.

  • On the web: Select Recordings from the left-hand menu. You will see tabs at the top with listings for Cloud Recordings and Local Recordings, but you can only open local recordings on your desktop.
  • In the Zoom Desktop Client: Select the Settings button, then find a menu option called *Recording* - Select or view the location for your local recordings and view how much cloud recording space you have and how much is in use.

How do I upload a Zoom recording to my course?

If Zoom Cloud recording is enabled, all recordings are automatically uploaded into Kaltura's My Media in Canvas. If you are uploading a recording saved to your computer, we recommend that you upload the recording to My Media and embed it inside your course. Alternatively, you can upload to a third-party service that can host large media files such as Microsoft OneDrive, YouTube, Google, or Vimeo and embed the external link in Modules. For more information, visit Managing Cloud Recordings.

How many recordings can I store in the Zoom cloud? 
There is no limit on the number of recordings you can save to the cloud.

How long can I store recordings in the Zoom cloud?
There is a 180-day time limit for cloud storage. However, all recordings saved to the Zoom cloud will be simultaneously copied to Kaltura's MediaSpace and My Media in Canvas. 180 days after your recordings were saved in the cloud, they will be moved into your Zoom account trash. Recordings will remain in your Zoom trash for 30 days before being deleted permanently.

Will Zoom recordings saved locally to my device be deleted after 180 days? 
No, the 180-day limit only affects recordings saved to the Zoom cloud. Locally stored recordings on your device will not be impacted. 

Will attendance reports be deleted? 
No, attendance reports will continue to be available according to Zoom’s report retention period—which is typically up to 12 months.  

Will my Zoom cloud recordings be deleted forever? 
Recordings will be moved to your Zoom account trash 180 days after the date they were saved in the cloud. However, your recordings will be copied and available in to Kaltura's MediaSpace and My Media in Canvas. Recordings will remain in your Zoom trash for 30 days before being deleted permanently. At that point, there is no way to retrieve them.

Will I be notified before my recordings are deleted permanently? 
Notifications will be sent automatically 7 days before the recordings are permanently deleted from your Zoom trash. 

How do I save my Zoom cloud recordings to my computer? 
Access Zoom from Single Sign On (SSO) and select the "Recordings" link from the left navigation. Click on the name of a recording to download it and its associated files either individually or together.

How many recordings can I store in MediaSpace? 
MediaSpace allows for an unlimited number of recordings and uploads. 

How do I share my recordings from MediaSpace? 
Recordings can be shared by clicking on the name of the Zoom recording in My Media. Under the Share tab, Zoom cloud recordings can be shared via embed code, URL link, or email. Note that a video will need to be published to a MediaSpace Channel with the appropriate permission settings in order for your audience to view the video. You can publish the video as an unlisted item to bypass this option, just note that anyone without a MediaSpace account will be able to access the file with the link. 

Will all my recordings and associated files be available in MediaSpace? (All Viewing Angles, Chat Log, etc.) 
Only your video recording, including all viewing angles, will be transferred over. Unfortunately, the chat log, transcriptions, and audio file will only be available to download from the Zoom tile on SSO. 

Will links to recordings that I’ve posted on Canvas be affected?
When recordings are moved from the cloud to your Zoom account trash, any links to them must be replaced. For instructions to add media to your courses, visit the CSULB Kaltura website.

Will anything happen to the recordings I have already moved to Canvas? 
No, only the original cloud recordings hosted on Zoom are subject to automatic deletion. Archived copies of recordings hosted on other platforms are not affected. 

Can I edit my Zoom Recordings? 
Yes, you can edit your recordings in the video editor within MediaSpace and Canvas. 

Why is my camera not working in Zoom?

If your camera is not showing up in the Zoom Settings or it is selected and not showing any video, visit the tips on troubleshooting a camera that won't start or show video web page.

Why is my audio not working in Zoom?

The Zoom desktop app allows you to test your audio and video before hosting or joining a meeting.  Click on one of the links below for more information:

Why is there an echo in my Zoom meeting?

Echo can be caused by many things, such as a participant connected to the meeting audio on multiple devices or two participants joined in from the same local. Learn about common causes of audio echo.

Why can’t I annotate in Zoom?

Zoom allows meeting participants to annotate on a shared screen as a viewer or the one that started sharing your screen. You can also use annotation tools when sharing or viewing a whiteboard. If someone is unable to do this they may need to enable annotation from their Zoom account page online.

Why can’t I give a thumbs-up reaction in Zoom?

Zoom allows participants to give silent, non-verbal feedback such as clapping or thumbs-up using the Reactions button in the meeting controls panel. If someone is unable to do this, they may have to enable Non-verbal Feedback in the settings on their Zoom account online.